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FIRST Robotics Weekend For Dec 7-8 At STLCC-FV

St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley continues to support science, technology, engineering and math programs for kids of all ages.

The weekend of Dec. 7-8 will see two major robotics events and more than 800 elementary, middle and high school students on campus.

The first of six qualifying events for FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) teams in Missouri will take place Dec. 7. Thirty-six teams of students in grades 7-12 will compete for a chance to advance to the Missouri FTC Championship at Missouri University of Science and Technology on March 1.

The events are free and open to the public. Activities will run 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. both days. The competitions will be in the gymnasium on campus, 3400 Pershall Road, and FIRST signs will point the way.

This year’s game is called Block Party. The game challenges teams to move blocks into baskets, balance on a bridge, raise a flag six feet in the air, and hang from a bar. Teams have been working on the challenge since September and are eager to see how they perform.

The culmination of the FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) season for Eastern Missouri teams is slated for Dec. 8. More than 220 teams competed in the 10 qualifying events offered in October and November.

The 40 top teams will compete in the Eastern Missouri FLL Championship event. The teams will run their LEGO MINDSTORMS® robots on the competition table and present their research from the Nature’s Fury? Challenge.

Tom McGovern, engineering and technology associate professor and FIRST liaison at STLCC, said the college has had a partnership with FIRST for more than six years.

“Last year the Ashok Agrawal Robotics Scholarship for FIRST students was established for students who are attending St Louis Community College. This year marks the first time Florissant Valley, Forest Park and Meramec will all be hosting competitions,” McGovern said.